COLUMBIA, Ky. -- Bart Garlick has been named the first head swimming and diving coach at Lindsey Wilson College, the school announced on Thursday. Lindsey Wilson announced in early October the addition of swimming and diving to its athletic programs beginning fall of 2009.
Garlick comes to Lindsey Wilson after serving as head coach at the University of Colorado since 2005. While at Colorado, Garlick lead the men's and women's programs to a combined four straight American Swimming Association National Championships and seven national records.
"We're very excited about Bart's addition to our department, our college and our community" Lindsey Wilson athletics director Willis Pooler said. "He is a very knowledgeable, energetic coach with a tremendous track record. We're confident in his ability to build a top-notch swimming and diving program while providing our student-athletes the opportunity to experience our mission of Lindsey Wilson College."
The swimming and diving teams will be housed in the new health and wellness center which is scheduled for opening in the fall of 2009. The state-of-the-art facility will house an eight lane competition pool and three competition diving boards for the swimming and diving teams.
"There are so many elements that attracted me to this job," Garlic said. "But I really like the challenge of creating a program from scratch. It is a great opportunity that most coaches never get to experience and with the great support from the institution's administration, I know we can build something special here at Lindsey Wilson College."
Prior to Colorado, Garlick was the head women's swimming coach at Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania from 2001-05. At Lock Haven, Garlick led his team to records in all 19 NCAA events and posted the highest conference finishes in the program's history (2003-2004). In addition to their accolades in the pool, Garlick's program ranked first academically among all athletic teams at Lock Haven every year of his tenure.
From 2000-01, Garlick served as assistant coach of men's swimming at Penn State University where the team finished third at Big Ten Championships and 16th at the NCAA Division I National Championships. During the season, the team set four Big Ten Conference records, had seven Big Ten Champions and five Division I national finalist.
Prior to his collegiate coaching experience, Garlick served as head coach of several YMCA swimming programs, beginning in 1989. He also holds two current YMCA Master's national records. Garlick also competes in the triathlon, completing his first Ironman distance event in October of 2007.
"My initial goal for our program is to have high satisfaction among the participants and to produce high quality citizens," Garlick said. "I want our student-athletes to have a high quality experience they will remember favorably for the rest of their lives."
